Stages of Life
by TL-chan
Summary: Some things work out surprisingly well. Even when two sisters marry former enemies, and the family grows from there. Buguese x Aqune


**AN:** Something different from me again. I wanted to play around with how Buguese and Aqune's life might be like many years later. (A positive, fluffy route. I'd love to try something depressing next.) And one thing I've sort of wondered is what their kid(s) would be like. Even if it probably isn't biologically possible for them to have any, I love the concept of hybrids.

...And as usual, this fic does nothing I actually intended before sitting down to type.

* * *

Two children play together, in the large grounds outside the castle. The elder, a girl, the more dominant one. It isn't that she's a bully, or something of that sort. Simply, the younger boy admires her. He's happy to follow her as a leader. And it's not that he's a submissive child either. Simply, she's his cool older cousin. And they share a lot of the same interests.

She isn't a girly girl. They love to go on play "adventures" together, real ones when it's possible. They practice sparring together with light wooden swords, imagining themselves to be the heroes their parents were.

From a distance, the girl's parents watch on from the shade of a tree, as they have a picnic lunch. A purple spider is also there beside them.

"Isn't this perfect?" The woman smiles warmly. "I mean, the way they get along as if there's no difference between them. I'm glad they're together."

"I suppose so," mumbles the man. It isn't even that he disagrees. But somewhere in his mind, the reality is so preposterous that it becomes difficult to accept.

"Buguese, there's nothing to worry about," she answers reassuringly. "I think they know better than to run off anywhere today."

Well, optimist as Aqune was, she hoped to reassure herself this time. The last time the cousins got together to play, they wound up on an adventure which was a bit too big for them. After hearing the tale from Hunter of the time he was lost in the Forest of Bewilderment, they wanted to see it for themselves, and of course to try and "escape" from it. Well, Digger insisted it was Sola's idea. Sola insisted it was Digger's. Whoever's it actually was, they didn't quite pull off the escaping part of their plan. Even having Insector blood in her, Sola was half human, and was still affected by the forest's pollen. Needless to say, Buguese was forced to go in and rescue them, and they received more scolding than ever before in their relatively short lives.

"That isn't quite what concerns me." Still, Buguese shook his head in exasperation just thinking about that time. "And you don't need to be concerned either. That was largely Hunter Steele's fault. I knew it was a foolish idea to have him watch _our_ daughter."

"But it's because they're friends," Aqune replied. "Sola loves to play with Digger, and she adores her aunt and uncle too."

"And that is exactly the issue," Buguese said. "More than anything, I never dreamed of having a child who could get along with Hunter Steele, or his spawn."

"That's not a very nice way to talk about your family," Aqune answered, gently yet stern. That Buguese was never quite going to like Hunter was something she had long since come to accept. But she felt it was worth coming to his defense anyway.

"How do you even know they're family?" Buguese questioned. He had to. It was a sore spot, even if he knew what she would say. "You don't remember being sisters with Corona. I still wonder if she could have lied to you."

"Corona isn't that type of person," replied Aqune. "Even though I still can't remember that part of my life, I can feel it to be true. Well, it doesn't matter if it's the truth or a lie. It's the reason Sola has a best friend."

"Yes, I know that," Buguese sighed. He couldn't really argue with her. It was true that above all, he wanted his daughter to be happy, regardless of his feelings toward his extended family. He was perfectly willing to watch both of them, while Hunter and Corona took a day to themselves, especially because he would actually _watch_ them. "They certainly shouldn't be kept from playing together. But even Grasshop makes a better babysitter than those Spider Riders."

Aqune had to cover her mouth to stifle giggles. Actually, she didn't think Grasshop made a poor babysitter at all, as someone who actually had children of his own for many years prior. Yet it was true that he wasn't the type anyone would think to be responsible if they didn't know him well enough. But more than Grasshop, what amused and puzzled her was the fact that the man Aqune married seemed to have an abysmally low opinion on practically everyone else they were acquainted with. Not just Hunter, but Corona, Grasshop… No matter the babysitter, whenever they needed one, he would find something to complain about. But when it came to her, or their daughter, he was quite a different person. However did he manage to love them so much?

"What?" Buguese asked. He didn't think he was making a joke.

"Oh." Her face was becoming red. "How did you ever fall in love with me?"

He was almost speechless for a moment.

"Why that, all of a sudden?"

"It's only a thought," Aqune replied, keeping an amused face. "I already know the answer."

Of course it was a gradual thing, for an Insector to love a human. Probably, for anyone it would be gradual. The barrier of race simply made it even harder. Even Buguese couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he felt the way he did. But that didn't really matter. The point was, the two fell very much in love with each other despite their differences. And that love brought forth Sola, a girl who was both Insector and human. She was weak and sickly as a baby. It was obvious that there would be complications when she was a cross of two species. Her parents were both a bit on the protective side. Well, more than "a bit" in Buguese's case. Even putting the issue of her health aside, they didn't want her to face the hardships they did in their lives. She shouldn't have had to. Not when she had a better world to live in. But as she grew stronger, and was as curious about the world as any other child, they began to introduce her more and more to the world outside the castle. She had already known her cousin, but now they finally had the chance to grow close. Aqune was the first to admit it, Buguese could simply smile and acknowledge it, but they were happy for her to become close to someone else. They were happy that she could run off into forbidden forests and get lost (so long as she did come home safely). The love that they felt for her, it wasn't a gradual thing in this case. It was always there, and it would always get stronger, as she grew more and more.

Aqune could see, as she was lost in thought, that Buguese had started to gaze at their daughter and her best friend once more.

"Like I said, it's perfect," Aqune spoke, as she too watched on, her hand atop Buguese's. "But I wonder… Now she's just making friends, but what can we do when she falls in love?"

"That's forbidden," Buguese declared immediately.

"For now," Aqune agreed. But time goes by fast.


End file.
